1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flush mountable, paddle handle xe2x80x9coperatorxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9coperating assemblyxe2x80x9d for operating one or a plurality of adjacent or remotely located latch assemblies, wherein a key-operated lock cylinder or the like is carried by the housing of the operating assembly for positioning a slot-carried connecting element to selectively drivingly connect and disconnect a pair of adjacent linkage elements of the operating assembly to enable and disable the paddle handle from operating the latch assemblies. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lockable paddle handle latch operator having a lock cylinder that is accessible from the front of the operating assembly for controlling the position of a connecting element that is movable within aligned slots formed through a pair of overlying arms that pivot about a common axis at the rear of the operating assembly, with the position of the connecting element in the slots, and the configuration and orientation of the slots determining whether the arms are drivingly connected to pivot in unison to cause latch operation in response to pivoting of the paddle handle to its operated position, or are disconnected so that pivotal movement of the first arm by the paddle handle causes no corresponding latch operating movement of the second arm.
Two invention embodiments are disclosed herein. A first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-13 employs this xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking arrangement in a paddle handle operating assembly that operates a single, adjacently located ratary latch. A second embodiment shown in FIGS. 14-16 employs this xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking arrangement in a paddle handle operating assembly that operates a plurality of remotely located latch assemblies.
2. Prior Art
Flush mountable lock operating mechanisms that employ paddle-type handles nested within pan-shaped housings, and that have linkages for operating one or a plurality of adjacent or remotely located latch assemblies are known. These so called xe2x80x9cpaddle handlexe2x80x9d operating assemblies have been manufactured since the mid-part of the twentieth century for use on the utility cabinets of industrial service vehicles, and for other applications, and now are commercially available in a wide variety of configurations from a number of manufacturers.
Many of the known types of paddle handle operating assemblies include 1) a flush-mountable housing having a forwardly-facing recess that nests a paddle handle that is pivotally connected to the housing for movement between handle non-operated and handle operated positions; 2) a key or combination operated lock cylinder mounted in a hole formed through the flush-mountable housing, which is accessible from the front of the housing for being xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cunlocked;xe2x80x9d and, 3) an operating linkage located behind the housing for drivingly connecting the operating handle to one or more latch assemblies to operate the latch assemblies in response to movement of the paddle handle from its non-operated to its operated position, except when the lock cylinder is xe2x80x9clocked.xe2x80x9d
One known technique for preventing the operation of such a paddle handle operating assembly when its lock cylinder is xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d is to provide the lock cylinder with a cam that is positionable to block some essential movement of an operating linkage element. This xe2x80x9cdirect blockagexe2x80x9d approach is often relatively inexpensive to implement, and is widely used. Where this locking technique is utilized, the fact that an essential operating linkage movement is blocked when the unit is locked usually also means that that the paddle handle is prevented from being moved out of its non-operated position when the unit is locked. A resulting drawback is the possibility that the operating assembly may be damaged or defeated if efforts are made to force the paddle handle to move to its operated position when the unit is locked.
Another known technique for preventing operation of a paddle handle operating assembly from unlatching one or more latch assemblies when the lock cylinder of the operating assembly is xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d is to provide the operating assembly with a so called xe2x80x9cdisconnectxe2x80x9d feature. This approach usually involves an addition to the operating assembly of some mechanism for selectively disabling an essential driving connection between elements of the linkage that couples the paddle handle to such latch assemblies as are operated by the paddle handlexe2x80x94a disconnect mechanism that is operated by the lock cylinder of the operating assembly. When the lock cylinder is xe2x80x9cunlocked,xe2x80x9d the essential driving connection is established; and, when the lock cylinder is xe2x80x9clocked,xe2x80x9d the essential driving connection is disabled.
An advantage of the xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking approach just described is that, when the operating assembly is locked, the paddle handle is completely disconnected from the latch or latches that it normally operatesxe2x80x94hence, movement of the paddle handle will do nothing to operate the latch assemblies. Because attempts to force the handle in an effort to operate the latches will accomplish little, operating assemblies that utilize the xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d approach tend to suffer little in the way of damage or defeat due to being forced.
Patents that show how the xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking technique has been incorporated in paddle handle operating assemblies that have housing-carried lock cylinders (referred to hereinafter as the xe2x80x9cDisconnect Patentsxe2x80x9d) include:
1) U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,202 issued Jan. 26, 1982 to John V. Pastva, Jr., et al, entitled PADDLE LOCK WITH BOLT-CARRIED HANDLE DISCONNECT MEMBER;
2) U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,204 issued Jan. 26, 1982 to Edwin W. Davis, entitled PADDLE LOCK WITH TRANSLATABLY MOUNTED HANDLE DISCONNECT MEMBER;
3) U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,205 issued Jan. 26, 1982 to James A. Reed et al, entitled PADDLE LOCK WITH ROTATABLY MOUNTED HANDLE DISCONNECT MEMBER;
4) U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,642 issued Mar. 23, 1982 to John V. Pastva, Jr., entitled PADDLE LOCKS WITH HANDLE DISCONNECT FEATURES;
5) U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,812 issued Mar. 30, 1982 to Albert L. Pelcin, entitled PADDLE LOCK WITH PIVOTALLY MOUNTED HANDLE DISCONNECT MEMBER; and,
6) U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,595 issued Jun. 22, 1982 to Jye P. Swan et al, entitled PADDLE LOCK WITH HANDLE DISCONNECT.
While the proposals of the Disconnect Patents have provided workable solutions in some applications where xe2x80x9cdisconnect linkagexe2x80x9d locking has been desired, the solutions offered by these patents have been found to be best suited for use with so called xe2x80x9cpaddle locksxe2x80x9d of the spring-projected-bolt type that have their latch bolts slidably mounted on the same flush-mountable housings that pivotally mount the paddle handles of these units. Not addressed by the Disconnect Patents is a long-standing need for a relatively simple approach that can be taken to provide other types of paddle-handle operated latch assemblies with a xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking system. The need remains for a simple, versatile xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking system that can be incorporated into the operating linkages of paddle-handle operating assemblies to provide xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking in place of the xe2x80x9cdirect blockagexe2x80x9d locking systems currently being used by these operating assemblies.
Two examples of paddle-handle operating assemblies that can be rendered more resistant to damage and defeat (due to forcing of their paddle handles) if their xe2x80x9cdirect blockagexe2x80x9d locking systems could be replaced by xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking systems are provided by the following patents:
1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,458 issued Dec. 24, 1996 to Lee S. Weinerman et al, entitled HANDLE OPERABLE ROTARY LATCH AND LOCK; and,
2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,076 issued Jan. 21, 1997 to Lee S. Weinerman et al, entitled HANDLE OPERABLE TWO-POINT LATCH AND LOCK.
The first of these two patents discloses a relatively simple operating assembly having a rotary latch assembly connected directly to the flush-mountable housing of the operating assembly. A first invention embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-13 hereof addresses the need to provide this type of paddle-handle operating assembly with disconnect features.
The second of these patents discloses a more complex, modular type of operating assembly that has its components carried partially by the flush-mountable housing and partially by a mounting bracket that is used to clamp the flush-mountable housing in placexe2x80x94an operating assembly that is configured to operate a plurality of remotely located latch assemblies that typically are of the slide-bolt or rotary type. A second invention embodiment shown in FIGS. 14-38 hereof addresses the need to provide this type of paddle-handle operating assembly with disconnect features.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention offers a simple way of providing the operating linkage of a paddle handle operating assembly with xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking.
The approach taken is to include within the operating linkage (i.e., the linkage that drivingly connects the paddle handle to one or more latch assemblies for operating the latch assemblies) a pair of overlying arms that pivot about a common axis. One of the arms is coupled to the paddle handle for being pivoted when the paddle handle is pivoted. The other of the arms is coupled to one or more latch assemblies for operating the latch assemblies in the event that both of the overlying arms are pivoted, in unison, by the paddle handle. Wilether the arms are drivingly connected to pivot in unison is controlled 1) by utilizing a lock cylinder to selectively position a connecting element along the length of aligned slots formed through the overlying arms between xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d positions, and 2) by configuring and orienting the slots so that, a) when the connecting element is moved to its xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d position by the lock cylinder, the connecting element provides a driving connection between the overlying arms that will cause the arms to pivot in unison to cause latch operation in response to pivotal movement of the operating handle from its non-operated position to its operated position, and b) when the connecting element is moved to its xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d position by the lock cylinder, the connecting element xe2x80x9cdisconnectsxe2x80x9d the arms (i.e., the connecting element fails to provide a driving connection between the overlying arms) whereby pivotal movement of the first arm by the paddle handle will not cause corresponding latch-operating movement of tile second arm.
An interesting feature of the present invention is that it contemplates two very different approaches that can be taken to render the connecting element incapable of establishing a driving connection between the first and second arms when the connecting element is moved to its xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d position:
1) One approach relies more on slot configuration than on slot orientation and positioning to accomplish its objective. This approach calls for the overlying slots to have a narrow width that closely receives the connecting element except where the slots receive the connecting element when the connecting element is in its xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d positionxe2x80x94at which location at least one of the slots is enlarged to receive the connecting element quite loosely. When the connecting element is closely received within the narrow regions of the aligned slots, it provides a driving connection between the overlying arms. However, when the connecting element is quite loosely received at its xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d position, the xe2x80x9clost motionxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cplayxe2x80x9d that is provided by the looseness with which the connecting member is received in at least one of the aligned slots permits the first arm (i.e., the arm that is connected to the paddle handle) to pivot freely (in response to pivoting of the paddle handle) without causing the connecting element to cause corresponding movement of the second arm (i.e., the arm that must be pivotally moved to effect latch operation). This first approach is utilized in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-13 hereof, but can be substituted for the approach that is utilized in the embodiment of FIGS. 14-38.
2) The other approach contemplated by the invention relies more on slot orientation and positioning than on slot configuration. Indeed, with this approach, the slots can both exhibit substantially uniform widths along their entire lengths. This approach calls for the slot that is formed in tile first arm (i.e., the arm that pivots in response to pivotal movement of the paddle handle) to have a xe2x80x9cdisconnect locationxe2x80x9d along its length-a region of the slot that is oriented to extend substantially perpendicular to an imaginary line that extends from the xe2x80x9cdisconnect locationxe2x80x9d to intersect the common axis about which both of the arms pivot. When the connecting element is xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d (meaning that it is positioned at the xe2x80x9cdisconnect locationxe2x80x9d of the first slot), pivotal movement of the first arm (in response to pivotal movement of the paddle handle) will cause opposite sidewalls of the first slot (i.e., the slot formed in the first arm) to slide freely past opposite sides of the connecting element without exerting enough in the way of driving force on the connecting element to cause it to pivot the second arm. Stated in another way, the connecting element, when in its xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d position, is at a xe2x80x9cdisconnect locationxe2x80x9d along the length of the first slot where pivotal movement of tile first arm moves opposite sidewalls of the first slot substantially tangentially to a radius that extends from the common axis to the disconnect locationxe2x80x94hence pivotal movement of the first arm simply causes portions of the first slot to slide smoothly past the connecting element without drivingly engaging the connecting element to cause unlatching movement of the second arm. This second approach is utilized in the embodiment of FIGS. 14-38 hereof, but can be substituted for the approach that is utilized in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-13.
These approaches have in common the fact that they rely on the positioning of a connecting element along aligned slots in overlying arms pivoted about a common axis, and that they rely on slot configuration and/or orientation to cooperate with the connecting element so that a driving connection will be established between the arms except when the connecting element is moved to its locked position through operation of a lock cylinder. The resulting provision of a xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d type of locking action leaves the paddle handle xe2x80x9cfree wheelingxe2x80x9d (i.e., free to move between its non-operated and operated positions) when the operating assembly is xe2x80x9clocked,xe2x80x9d whereby the operating assembly is far less likely to suffer damage or defeat due to xe2x80x9cforcingxe2x80x9d of the operating handle.
In preferred practice, a paddle handle operating assembly that employs the xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d locking system of the present invention has a flush-mountable lousing that pivotally mounts its paddle handle in a forwardly-facing recess defined by the housing. A key or combination operated lock cylinder or the like is carried by the housing to provide a locking member located behind the housing that is movable between locked and unlocked positions; and, the locking member is coupled to the connecting element of the operating linkage for controlling the position of the connecting element within the aligned slots that are defined by overlying arms of the operating linkage that pivot about a common axis. When the lock cylinder positions the locking member in its locked position, the locking member positions the connecting element to establish no driving connection between the arms that causes the arms to move in unison. When the lock cylinder positions the locking member in its unlocked position, the lock member positions the connecting element in relatively narrow regions of the aligned slots where the connecting element establishes a driving connection for pivoting the arms in unison to operate the latch assemblies when the paddle handle is moved from its non-operated position to its operated position.
Where the xe2x80x9cenlarged slot end regionxe2x80x9d approach is utilized, the aligned slots preferably are oriented such that one of their aligned end regions is located closer to the common pivot axis of the arms than is the other of their aligned end regions. In preferred practice, it is the inner of these end regions (i.e., the one located more closely to the common pivot axis) where at least one of the slots is enlarged to receive the connecting element relatively loosely therein when the lock cylinder positions the locking member in the locked position to disable the driving connection provided between the arms by the connecting element; and, it is the narrower outer end region (the opposite end region of the aligned slots which is located farther from tile common pivot axis where both of the slots are relatively narrow) where the connecting element is positioned by the lock cylinder when the locking member is in its unlocked position. If the inner end region is located measurably closer to tile common pivot axis than the outer end region, it is desirable to select the inner end region as tile location for the needed slot enlargement, for less of an enlargement is needed here than would be required if tile outer end region is selected (inasmuch as the arc through which the arm moves that is pivoted by the paddle handle is shorter the closer it is located to the common pivot axis).
A feature of preferred practice resides in the use of a pin-type of connecting element, with the pin being carried by a simple locking link that is pivotally connected to the locking member of the lock cylinder.
This use of a simple link-carried pin as a connecting element that extends into aligned slots of a pair of pivoted linkage arms permits a xe2x80x9clinkage disconnectxe2x80x9d type of locking action to be provided in a paddle handle operating assembly at relatively low cost utilizing simple, easy-to-assemble components that offer reliable service and a lengthy service life.
The first of the two operating assembly embodiments that are depicted in the drawings hereof (namely in FIGS. 1-13) illustrates how features of the invention preferably are implemented in a relatively simple unit that includes a single rotary latch connected directly to the housing of the operating assembly. The resulting unit provides a slam-capable, flush-mountable, paddle-handle-operated, single-jaw rotary latch having a jaw-retaining rotary pawl that can be pivoted to xe2x80x9cunlatchxe2x80x9d the rotary latch by an operating linkage that includes a pair of overlying arms that are connected directly to the housing for pivotal movement along a back wall of the housing for executing an xe2x80x9cunlatchingxe2x80x9d movement in response to movement of the paddle-type handle from its normal, non-operated position to its operated position.
The second of the two operating assembly embodiments depicted in the drawings hereof (namely in FIGS. 14-38) illustrates how features of the invention preferably are implemented in a more complex, modular-type of operating assembly that is set up to operate a pair of remotely located latch assemblies. The operating assembly has its components divided between a set of xe2x80x9cfrontxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d assemblies or xe2x80x9cmodulesxe2x80x9d that cooperate advantageously to do such things as reinforce each other and to aid in the mounting of the operating assembly on a closure. While this modular operating assembly is relatively complex, the manner in which a disconnect is provided has much in common with the approach that is utilized by the simpler operating assembly, namely by using a pair of overlying arms that pivot about a common axis and that are drivingly connected or disconnected by a connecting element that is carried in aligned slots formed through the overlying arms, with the position of the connecting element within the slots being controlled by a lock cylinder to selectively establish and disable a driving connection between the overlying arms. In the more complex embodiment (of FIGS. 14-38), the overlying arms are not connected directly to the flush-mountable housing of the operating assembly, but rather are pivotally mounted on a mounting bracket that is connected to the housing when the operating assembly is installed on a closure.